The Darkest Secrets
by TheDayDreamingInsomniac
Summary: Shisui's plan to stop the Uchiha massacre was successful, and Danzo has been removed from power. But when Shisui disappears years later, it becomes apparent that all is not forgotten… or forgiven. Will Itachi make it in time to save his best friend? And can Sakura get to the bottom of his secrets, before they destroy him? Non-mass, ItaSaku.
1. The Day Itachi Almost Lost His Soul

The Darkest Secrets

Prologue: The Day Itachi Almost Lost His Soul

 **Disclaimer: I am sad to admit that I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. *sniffle***

 **A/N: So this is my first fanfiction (and pretty much my first non-college related writing), so I'm not entirely sure how well this is going to work out. But I would be honored if you would give this fic a read! I'd be even more honored if you leave a review (pretty, pretty please). This chapter is the set up for the story and explains how I've altered events to create it. No Sakura in this chapter, but she will make an appearance in the next one. I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to say in these author notes, so without further ado, please enjoy the story! Words with an * after them have a definition at the end of the chapter.**

 _13 Years Ago_

Shisui and Itachi stood back-to-back in the field outside of the Uchiha compound. Volley after volley of weapons sped towards them, and were systematically deflected by the two skilled Uchiha.

They were up against five Root shinobi, and Itachi was almost certain he could sense Danzo lurking in the woods. Launching himself off the ground, he shot a fire justu across the field, forcing one of the Root members back towards the tree line… straight into a hastily lain wire trap. _One down_.

Shisui flipped over his head and made eye contact with another Root agent, who had been trying to get under Itachi's guard. _Two down_.

With an irritated huff, Itachi sent a barrage of kunai flying towards the tree line where he sensed Danzo's presence. The old man responded only with an amused chuckle. _Bastard._

It was a good thing he had insisted that he go along with Shisui to meet with the elders. He had a gut feeling that something terrible would happen today, and it looks as though he was right. They could handle the five Root shinobi together. It would be difficult, but not impossible. However, if Shisui were alone, then he would be overpowered, and their plan to stop the coup would fail.

They _could_ _not_ fail.

He heard a grunt to his left as Shisui took a kunai to the shoulder. It didn't slow him down though. He retaliated by jamming three senbon into the agents neck. _Three down_.

The fourth Root agent took advantage of the slight distraction Shisui's injury had caused, and caught Itachi in the ribs with a powerful kick. He felt his ribs crack as he slid several feet backwards, and the fifth Root descended on him, katana drawn.

But he never quite made it. Shisui tackled him to the ground, and as they struggled, Itachi got to his feet and shot towards the remaining Root member. They engaged in taijutsu, which he quickly deduced that they were well matched in. So instead, he leapt back a couple feet, quickly forming the hand signs for a simple genjutsu.

The second it took the Root operative to dispel it was a second too long. Itachi unsheathed his own katana and drove it into the Root agents gut. _Four down._

He straightened and looked over to where Shisui had been tangled with the final Root member and found that Shisui had finished with his opponent as well, drawing a kunai across his throat.

They were done with the Root agents, which just left….

Itachi's eyes narrowed as he felt Danzo's presence fade. _Coward_.

But they had far more important things to worry about. It was time to implement Shisui's plan. They had to use Kotoamatsukami on the clan elders, who should be meeting at the Nakano shrine right about now. He would have time later to speak with the Hokage about Danzo's betrayal.

Itachi hoped the bastard never saw the light of day again, once the Hokage was notified. It would be even better if the Hokage allowed him to handle Danzo himself.

After all, Itachi's problem with Danzo was even more personal than this silly fight. He had tried to force Itachi's hand into killing off his own clan, and had attempted to kill Shisui right in front of him.

If Shisui had died, then he would have had no choice. Itachi would betray his clansmen to prevent war. Because he had already seen it, and he never wanted to see it again.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

 _3 days later_

Itachi felt a huge weight lift off of him as the Hokage and his Tou-san* signed the lengthy document on the Hokage's desk. The document outlined new rights given to the Uchiha clan, in exchange for their continued loyalty and protection for Konoha.

The Uchiha would be given a seat on the elder council, and Fugaku himself would act as a liaison between the clan and the Hokage, bringing to Lord Third any insignificant detail the clan elders wished to bother him about. Shisui would also be joining Anbu, and would be immediately placed as Itachi's second-in-command. They were also given rights to move out of, or expand the Uchiha district as they saw fit.

The only thing that was bothering him now, was the fact that Danzo was yet to be found. It appeared that the man had fled the village after his failed attempt to end the Uchiha clan, along with the majority of his Root operatives. Teams of hunter-nin were deployed, but they all came back empty handed. The trail was cold now.

Sighing, Itachi slipped from his hiding place in a shadowy corner and left the Hokage building, strolling past the academy on his way to the Uchiha training grounds.

He paused at the fence around the Academy yard, and smiled softly as his Otouto* practiced his shuriken throwing, a determined scowl on his tiny face. Behind him, two little girls, one with pink, and the other with blonde hair, were giggling and blushing as they watched him. A blonde boy was setting up what appeared to be a giant water balloon trap over the doorway to the building, with the help of a young Inuzuka boy….

He wondered to himself what his brother's life would be like, had the massacre occurred. He knew that he never could have finished Sasuke along with the rest of his clan. He would have been forced to live on, angry and alone. And then Itachi would have had to threaten his own village, to ensure his precious brother's safety, once he left.

But he would have done it. And that knowledge weighed heavily on his mind.

The shuffling of feet broke him from his gloomy thoughts, and he turned to face the man behind him. "Itachi," his father spoke. "Something is bothering you."

With a slight frown, he turned back to watch his Otouto – this time picking shuriken out of his well-worn target. "Tou-san… we almost ruined this for him."

Fugaku turned to watch as well, his gaze softening. "Musuko*, I've put a lot on your shoulders. For that, I apologize. As grown-up as you may seem, I forget sometimes that you are still a boy. _My_ boy. I've been unfair to you."

When he simply stood there, in shock, his father continued, "I promise you, I will do better. For you and your brother." This was not the Tou-san he knew. His Tou-san was stern and disapproving, always expecting nothing less than perfection. But… had this version of him been there as well, buried deep, all this time?

And then, as though he _hadn't_ just shaken Itachi's perception of him, he turned and walked towards the Uchiha compound. "I'm proud of you… my son."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

 ***Tou-san – Father**

 ***Otouto – Little Brother**

 ***Musuko – My Son**

 **A/N: So I'm trying to make Fugaku a little more likeable… I don't think he left a very good impression on us during his short time in the series. Although he has his moments. He did somewhat forgive Itachi before he died, so I guess that works in his favor… but eh, I'm rambling. The point is, now that he realizes what he almost lost, he will be a much kinder parent.**

 **This chapter is definitely Itachi-centric, and rather short, but that will change a bit. There will definitely be a focus on him, but we will spend a lot of time with Sakura-chan as well. I'm thinking weekly (and lengthier) updates, though that may change as my final semester of college kicks off (so much to do… eek!). For reference: at the time of the massacre Sakura is 7 and Itachi is 13. In the time our story takes place, Itachi is 26 and Sakura is 20.**

 **Please review! Thanks!**

 **With Love, TheDayDreamingInsomniac.**


	2. The Most Dangerous Poisons are Secrets

The Darkest Secrets

Chapter Two: The Most Dangerous Poisons Are Secrets

 **A/N: Back again! Sorry it took so long. But I completely scrapped the majority of this chapter and started over…. The storyline was just progressing WAY too fast. And gave far too much away! We really can't have that. I am infinitely happier with this version. Plus I already have most of chapter two done now, since I moved over a bunch of stuff from chapter one… so I should even be on time next week! Yay! We get to meet Sakura in this chapter, and we will also see the basics of their current friendship. Enjoy! Flashbacks will be written in** _Italics_ **. Thoguhts will be in** 'thought' **.**

 **Also thank you to crimson dragonX for the review. It made me smile!**

 _Present Day_

ANBU Squad One had just returned from a routine border patrol that was… well, not very routine. Not that any of their missions were routine. In fact, they often had the propensity to go horribly wrong at any given moment. Given that fact, this mission wasn't necessarily bad, just… odd. As they entered the gates, Itachi signaled to his team to go on ahead and report in without him.

He would need to speak privately with the Hokage about the… _issues_ they ran into, anyways.

 _Itachi moved through the forest at breakneck speeds, so fast that it seemed as though he were simply flying, and his feet never touching the branches. Only the slight shiver of the boughs behind him gave evidence to his lack of any flight capacity. Flanking him on either side were Hana Inuzuka and his cousin, Shisui. And lastly, guarding their backs, was Genma Shiranui._

 _They had spotted a barely noticeable column of smoke off to the western border, close to Hidden Grass territory, and immediately set out to investigate. Beyond Grass was only Rain, and Iwa. They didn't currently have any teams on missions out that way, and the ANBU patrols lit only smokeless fires. It was probably a few harmless travelers, but still… it would be unforgivable if the Captain of Konoha's most renowned ANBU squad let a single enemy slip past him._

 _They arrived at the campsite, just in time to see the retreating backs of three cloaked and hooded shinobi. A kunai flew from Shisui's hand, just catching the corner of the travelling pack worn by one of the three. The small tear was enough for a few small items to fall out._

" _Shisui, Hana, follow them," Itachi ordered calmly. Hana was the best tracker, and Shisui's genjutsu should pin them down without much of a struggle. "Hai*, Taichou*," Their voices echoed eerily behind their porcelain masks, as they darted past him, after the fleeing shinobi._

 _Bending over the fallen items, he scooped up five small, nondescript vials and one scroll. Handing the vials over to Genma to investigate, he turned the scroll in his hands, searching for any seals or traps. Finding none on the outside of the scroll, he cautiously rolled open the first few inches… before the paper promptly burst into flame, and he was forced to drop it. But not before he saw something_ very _interesting inked onto the parchment._

 _Something that made his heart feel as though it had dropped into his gut._

 _He stood there, looking down at his hands for a moment. "Captain?" Genma's voice questioned softly. "Did it burn you?" He said, walking up to his captain, and looking down at his hands. A slight tilt of his head indicated his concern for his superior._

 _Itachi drew back slightly, letting his hands drop back to his sides. "No…. I'm alright. The vials?" Nodding, Genma explained, "They look similar to the poison vials Shizune carries on missions. Did you manage to see anything in the scroll before it was destroyed?"_

" _No…. Nothing," He lied._

 _Just then, Shisui and Hana reappeared, out of breath, with no prisoners to bring back for questioning. "Those crazy assholes just_ incinerated _themselves when we caught up to them. There was nothing left but ash," Hana spoke, huffing in annoyance. "It's an ANBU level body disposal technique. Most likely another village attempting to gather intelligence. We just don't know who." Shisui added._

 _Itachi simply nodded, turning back in the direction of the village. "We will head back and report to the Hokage," he ordered. And once more, they sped through the trees, back towards their home._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Leaving his team to handle the report in at the Hokage tower, Itachi stalked down to the poisons lab, where Kotetsu had informed him that Sakura Haruno had been holed up the past few days.

Really, it couldn't have been more perfect, with the poison vials they had found on the enemy shinobi. There was no one he trusted more than his pink-haired friend to examine them. The components of the poisons would give them insight as to the origins of the mystery shinobi.

Not that he really _needed_ a reason to go see her, he mused, as he stopped at the nearest food vendor. _Or_ to bring her some food. That's what friends do, right? Even if it was in poor form to hold off on reporting in…. But he was certain his team could handle it without him.

He found her just where Kotetsu said she would be, dressed in her lab coat and hunched over several scrolls and microscope slides.

And since she didn't immediately recognize his presence, he felt it safe to assume she had been down here for quite some time, and was exhausted. Haruno Sakura was, after all, well known for using the hospital's staff showers and laundry services to stay here for days on end. He sniffed the air. Yup. Hospital shampoo. And she was completely oblivious…. Time to mess with her.

He cleared his throat and grinned as the pink haired woman jumped and spun around, eyes wide.

"Damn, Itachi! Why do you always try to sneak in here?!" She raged, tossing a pen at him. He caught it with ease, spinning it between his fingers as he raised a chastising brow. "Why, Sakura, if _somebody_ hadn't decided to stay awake for days on end in her lab, she _probably_ would have noticed me. Tapping his chin, he looked off in the distance, pretending to think hard. "Hmmm… now who does that sound like?"

"I know, I know," she sighed, "but this poison Kiba and Sasuke ran into last week is almost as complex as Sasori's poison, from when I healed Kankuro all those years ago. I've already made the antidote, but the way they bound the heavy metals to the more delicate herbal components is really interesting. Whoever this was, they're _very_ talented, and I think it may be useful if…. Hey, is that dango*?"

He laughed at her sudden distraction as he pulled the dango out of the little styrofoam box. Her stomach growled mercilessly as she eyed the treat, and the cup of tea he had apparently produced from thin air. He set it on the table next to her, and she promptly began to devour it, like she hadn't seen food in days. Actually, that was probably the case….

When she finished, licking the last stubborn bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth, she looked up at him expectantly. "So, how was the patrol? You're back kind of early. Did something happen?"

She knew he was on patrol because it was the only non-classified Anbu duty, and he had stopped on his way out of the village to tell her he would be gone for several weeks. "We ran into a camp of unknown shinobi, and returned to report the incident," he replied. "They used a body disposal technique before we were able to capture them, which is cause for suspicion. But we were able to gather these from their packs." He pulled the five vials of poison from his kunai pouch and handed them over. "I was hoping you could tell me where these poisons are from. It may give us some insight to those shinobi's origins."

Nodding, Sakura took a small amount from each vial, placing them into various beakers, test tubes, and slides. He watched on with interest as she added reactants to the vials and beakers, jotting down notes. Then, she carefully examined each one under the microscope, and eventually, after several long minutes, sat back, a worried crease in her brow.

"These three," she began, setting aside the indicated bottles, "are poisons specific to this village. Two of which I recognize as the ones used by Anbu hunter-nin. These other two contain components most often found in Grass country." She picked up the three vials identified as Konoha poisons, eyeing them suspiciously. "If Grass has the recipe to some of our top poisons, there must be an information leak that needs to be addressed."

"I see…." He replied. "Konoha and Grass poisons…. We found them near the border of Grass, so that makes enough sense. I should go make my report to the Hokage. Can you come as well and report the findings of your poison analysis? You should get out of this lab for a while, anyways."

"Okay," she replied with a grin. She stood, her shoulder brushing his as they made their way out. "Wouldn't want to make you fuss over me anymore, you mother hen."

Itachi managed a vaguely insulted expression before a slightly uncharacteristic grin broke out on his face. It was so good to be home. "Well, I expect my mother would like the opportunity to fuss over you as well. She's always complaining about how she hardly sees her Sakura-chan anymore. And since you've hardly eaten anything, I'm sure she would be absolutely thrilled if you came for dinner."

"Oh my," she replied with mock concern. "I _must_ go, if I've been missed so much. Eating all that food is a difficult task, but I will gladly take one for the team. I'll even assist you with your portion of dessert. Wouldn't want you to overeat."

They continued on their way to the Hokage tower, bickering about who had rights to the most sweets.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura returned to her empty home after making her report to the Hokage, toeing off her black boots and dropping her apartment key on the kitchen counter. Shuffling down the hall and into the bathroom, she started the shower as she tugged off the clothes she had been wearing the past few days in the lab. She _had_ washed them a couple times at the hospital, but still, knowing that she had worn them for so long made her nose wrinkle in distaste.

Not that she wanted to spend enough time here to actually do laundry. The hospital had become her home, more so than this bleak little place would ever be. There was just a sense of loneliness that had seeped into the very walls, and the sooner she cleaned up and got to the Uchiha main house, the better. She _could_ always just stay there. Hell, Mikoto had practically begged her to stay before, back when…. Shaking her head abruptly, she stepped into the shower stall.

Soon enough, the small room was filled with the scent of her peach body wash, and she was rinsing the last of the shampoo from her hair, while silently wondering what it was that Itachi had to stay behind to speak with Tsunade about.

Not many people could read Itachi Uchiha. He had appeared calm while she reported her findings on the poison, and even cheerful when he told her to go on ahead, and that he'd see her for dinner. But she could see the worry in his eyes, for just a brief moment before she turned to leave Tsunade's office. After all, she and Itachi were pretty close.

Shutting off the water, she wrung out her pink hair and reached for the navy blue towel with the Uchiha insignia stitched into it (she had borrowed it from Sasuke during a mission to the Land of Hot Water one day, and never returned it). She absentmindedly dried herself, as she allowed her thoughts to wander.

When she had first been placed on team seven, she had never pictured that being Sasuke's teammate would lead to any sort of friendship with his elder brother. For a long time, they had mostly ignored one another, only exchanging pleasantries during the team dinners that Mikoto had insisted on hosting.

But it changed, during the fourth shinobi war. Sakura's parents had refused to evacuate with the other civilians, saying simply that they would not leave while their only daughter fought for the village.

 _Sakura had been beside Tsunade for the majority of the battle, fending off attackers and tending to the wounded combatants. She was nowhere near the civilian district, where her parents lived. She had then gone immediately to the hospital after the battle, as per protocol for medic-nin. While the village had won the fight, there were now countless people fighting for their lives within the sterile white walls, and it was her duty to help each of them survive._

 _Her parents, however, were among the casualties found in the rubble, their bodies recovered by none other than Anbu team one, who had volunteered for the gruesome task of recovering and burying the dead. Itachi had come to her personally to deliver the news._

 _She had noticed him hovering outside of the operating room she was working in. When she finished, he simply indicated that she should follow him. On the roof of the hospital, away from prying eyes, he quietly informed her that her parents had been lost in an explosion that decimated at least half of the civilian district. Dazed and in denial, she had demanded to see them._

 _He had complied, and remained silently by her side as she examined the bodies with her chakra, first desperately searching for a pulse, and then automatically identifying injuries. Broken bones, blood loss, concussion… all things that she could have healed with chakra, if only she had been there. If only they hadn't stayed behind. Shaking and gasping, she bent over the broken corpses, forcing her chakra to heal, to mend bone and flesh. 'I can fix this, I can do it. I have to fix it.' The desperate mantra repeated over and over in her mind, as she focused only on the individual injuries, refusing to accept the bigger picture._

 _Then, gentle hands grasped her own, lifting them away from her parents. She shoved at them, screaming "No! I can fix it, let me fix it!" But they held steady, pulling her forward until she met a warm, firm chest. He sat with her on the cold ground beside the cemetery, beside the bodies awaiting burial, until the sun had long ago set. She sobbed into his chest until her head hurt and her vision blurred, as his hands rubbed soothing circles on her back, his voice whispering reassurances in her ear._

 _And then, he brought her to his own home, where Mikoto helped the shell-shocked young woman get cleaned up and into bed._

 _Itachi was a gentle soul who hated seeing the suffering of others, and he felt the need to do all that he could to make things right. Especially for her. A kind woman who put her heart and soul into protecting those she loved…. She did not deserve to feel such loss. So he sought her out each day, sometimes sitting silently beside her, or sparring with her when the frustration and anger became too much to bear._

 _And in return, she did everything she could for the man who had helped her through so much. Making sure that he took adequate breaks between his rigorous Anbu missions, or healing even the smallest papercut that dared mar his skin. When his demons came to haunt him – things he had done or seen during his long Anbu career – she was there to anchor him to reality, and remind him that he was not a bad person. And that was how they slowly became an inextricable part of each other's lives, until they were sharing jokes, and communicating with only simple facial expressions. They were the very best of friends._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

 **A/N Oh my, what did Itachi see, and why is he lying about it? Bad boy, Itachi! So next chapter we will meet the (new and improved) Uchiha head family, and probably the rest of team seven. A lot of major events will be tweaked a bit, since I feel like the Uchiha clan massacre NOT happening would make a lot of things different. For example, Sasuke never defects, and his personality will be a little (but not TOO much) different. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

 **Hai – yes**

 **Taichou – Captain**

 **Dango – rice flour dumplings, usually with sauce, like mitarashi. You usually see them served on a stick, like in the Naruto anime (Anko eats them somewhere in the beginning of the forest of death episodes…)**


	3. The Moments We Bleed For

The Darkest Secrets

Chapter 2: The Moments We Bleed For

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **A/N: I feel like I will forever be apologizing for my late updates…. Sorry! Things have been a little crazy here. The final semester of nursing school is now in full swing (resulting in one very exhausted, cranky insomniac), and my Grandfather died just last week, so I honestly just haven't felt up to writing. But life goes on, and so does this story (I pinky swear, I'm going to finish this thing). So, enough of my excuses… on with the story!**

 **P.S. This chapter may be a bit crackish. But I love team 7 crack. They're just more fun to write that way. Also thank you to crimson dragonX, Twisted Musalih, and Sanban for the reviews! They make me smile.**

Sakura strolled down the streets of Konoha, absentmindedly taking in the sounds of laughter and birdsong. The sun was bright in the cloudless azure sky. It was that perfect sort of weather where it wasn't too cold, and not hot enough to make you sweat. Konoha's citizens were out in full force, and picnic blankets dotted the grassy hillsides.

And then, suddenly, a head of yellow hair, as bright as the sun, popped into her field of vision; at the same time her poor ears were assaulted with a loud, exuberant voice. "Sakura-chaaaaaaaaan!" Naruto yelled, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "I thought you would never come out of that smelly hospital. Did Itachi-nii* finally kick you out?" She looked up in shock at his teasing grin, a mock pout forming on her face. "Am I really that predictable? I need to find a new hiding spot." Naruto's expression shifted into a goofy, squinty-eyed glare. "Don't you dare Sakura-chan. Then you'd be just as bad as Kakashi-the-hermit-sensei."

"Mah… Naruto, that was mean." A voice drawled from the roof above them. The pair stopped and looked up, spotting their lazy former sensei lounging on the roof of the local bookstore, Icha Icha in hand. "I don't hide. You just aren't smart enough to find me," he teased, his one eye curving into a happy arch. Naruto's eye twitched. He stared at his sensei for several seconds.

Sakura could feel the explosion building up… any second now….

"Listen, you old pervert!" he yelled, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at the copy ninja.

….. Silence.

"You can't think of a come-back, can you?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"Whatever," Naruto grumbled, leaning against the outside of the bookstore. Well, that was the end of that. Best to take advantage of the quiet while it lasted. "So, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei… I'm headed to the Uchiha's place for dinner. Are you coming? We haven't done a team dinner in so long, so it might be nice." Naruto suddenly perked up, like a dog who was about to go for a walk. "Really? Awesome! I haven't had Mikoto-san's food in forever! And I can tell Fugaku-san all about the new team jutsu me and the bastard are working on! We figured you could confuse the enemy with one of those crazy punches, right? And then while you distract them, me and Sasuke will come in with this super cool move…." She tuned out his babbling and looked up at Kakashi, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm shipping out with Tenzou in a couple hours. We'll be in wind country for a couple weeks." Sakura wanted to laugh at his kicked-puppy expression. Kakashi _hated_ missing out on free food. Cheapskate. Naruto _did_ laugh. "Hah! More for me!" And with that, he sauntered off in the direction of the Uchiha clan compound. With a short good-bye wave, Sakura turned and followed him.

Upon arriving at the Uchiha manor, they discovered a half-asleep Sasuke, lounging on the porch in the sun, a bowl of half-eaten tomatoes by his head. Sakura thought he looked too comfortable. So did Naruto. And so they commenced their favorite pastime, 'make the Sasu-chan cranky.' Sakura sat by his head, poking his cheek as she picked up the bowl of tomatoes and waved it in his face. "Sasuke, you're going to ruin your appetite. How can you grow up to be all big and strong if you don't leave enough room for Mommy's yummy cooking?" She teased, still poking his face. He grumbled incoherently and rolled over.

Naruto bounced up to the porch and looked at Sasuke thoughtfully for a second, before licking his finger, and then inserting it into Sasuke's ear. Sakura cringed. ' _How very unsanitary.'_ Sasuke shot up into a sitting position, glaring from behind his rumpled bangs. "What the _hell_ do you _want._ " He spat, his irritated glare shifting from the gleeful blonde, to the too-innocent looking pinkette, and back again. "Nap-time ended when we were five, Sasuke," Sakura chided playfully.

A faint scraping noise on the roof distracted the three, which was shortly followed by a person dropping to the porch's wooden planks with a 'thunk.'

Itachi stood up, apparently having just returned from his extra little meeting with the Hokage. He raised an eyebrow at the strange sight before him. It appeared as though his precious little brother was being tormented by his teammates. Again. The three of them were formidable Jounin on the battlefield, each a genius in their own way. Off the battle field, however… when the three of them got together, they behaved like immature Genin.

"Aniki, make them stop." Sasuke whined. With a faintly amused snort, Itachi sat down on the porch, back resting against the wall.

They sat there for at least an hour, catching up on the last few days they had been apart. Sasuke quietly inquired about his brother's patrol mission, and the four of them spent several minutes contemplating the strange shinobi Anbu squad one encountered. Itachi went uncharacteristically silent after a while, seemingly deep in thought, a subtle worried look in his eyes. Sakura was the only one who noticed.

Eventually, a grinning Mikoto stepped out onto the porch, informing the four of them that dinner was ready. She gave each of them a brief hug before ushering them inside. Fugaku was just coming down the stairs, and he smiled warmly at the younger shinobi, exposing the slight wrinkles by his eyes.

It had taken some time, but Itachi had finally gotten used to the drastic change in his father. Itachi almost wondered sometimes if his father was ever under the effects of Kotoamatsukami after all. The major shift in his demeanor was that of someone who had a close brush with their own mortality, and at times he looked upon his eldest son with remorse and a calm sort of acceptance. Fugaku was a changed man. He more openly expressed his love for his wife and sons, and stopped pushing Sasuke to be like his brother. Where he might have looked down on the other members of team seven before, he now welcomed them with open arms.

"I see Naruto has come along, but where is Kakashi? Is he running late again?" Fugaku asked, his lips twitching in amusement. Sakura relayed to him Kakashi's reasons for skipping dinner. "I see," he responded, disappointment coloring his tone. Kakashi was widely accepted among the Uchiha as an honorary member. Obito had found him worthy enough to bequeath his sharingan to, and as far as the clan head was concerned, that made him one of them.

It probably also helped that Fugaku had been impressed by Kakashi's talent far before he had even acquired Obito's sharingan. When Itachi was entering the Anbu Black Ops, Fugaku had even gone out of his way and pulled some strings to ensure Itachi's placement on the copy ninja's squad. Not because of his borrowed sharingan, but for his elite skill.

The four younger shinobi filed through the kitchen, picking up platters of food on their way through and assisting Mikoto with setting the table. Fugaku made the tea and brought it out, and they all sat at the large table in the adjoined dining room. Fugaku sat on one end of the table, his sons on either side of him. Naruto sat next to Sasuke, and Sakura sat next to Itachi, while Mikoto made herself comfortable on the end opposite Fugaku. For a few minutes, it was silent in the room, with the exception of chopsticks scarping against the plates.

Of course with Naruto, that never lasted long. "Mm thi iss rell goo miko sah mah" He said around a mouthful of food. Sakura kicked him under the table, and he swallowed his food with a gulp, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Fugaku looked vaguely disgusted. "S-sorry!" he said quickly. "I was trying to say that this is really good. You've outdone yourself again. Thank you for having us over." Fugaku relaxed, satisfied with the apology. While the clan head had loosened up on many levels, he still demanded a certain amount of poise, and impeccable manners. Unfortunately, it was something that Sakura and Sasuke had failed to beat into their knucklehead teammate.

Embarrassed, Sasuke attempted to divert attention from the incident by discussing the logistics of their new "team 7 jutsu." Fugaku, interested in any sort of addition to his son's shinobi prowess, listened intently, occasionally giving his input.

Sakura ignored the conversation. They would explain her part in the "team jutsu" once they got the logistics figured out. Those pig-headed boys always did what they wanted anyways. It was why Sakura had gone to train with Tsunade when the slug Sanin became Hokage. Of course, she frequently enjoyed her training sessions with Itachi as well. He had once scolded his little brother for ignoring his female teammate, and had then taken her under his wing, training her when he had the time. They were a good match. Because of Sakura's affinity for genjutsu, Itachi found that he had a lot to teach her, and that she picked it up quickly.

Mikoto soon commanded Sakura's attention, asking if she had been eating okay, and did she really stay at the hospital's lab all week like Itachi said? Sakura turned ever so slightly to glare at Itachi, who tried to ignore her and eat his food. She pinched the sensitive skin right above his elbow, and he flinched ever so slightly. Mikoto pretended not to notice, but secretly smiled to herself when she knew they weren't looking. Mikoto loved Sakura as a daughter, and was pleased with the friendship between the young medic and her sons. Of course, she wouldn't mind if she were to date one of them. Perhaps Itachi. Yes, that would do. Her son had been so withdrawn, until the pink haired girl came into his life. He smiled more now….

Mikoto interrupted their silent bickering. "Sakura-chan, I insist that you stay here tonight. You need a good night's rest, and I refuse to let you out if my sight until I am certain you've been taken care of." Then, turning to her son, she said "Keep an eye on her, Itachi. Make sure she's comfortable, and be a gentleman." Sakura and Itachi simultaneously blushed. "H-hai Kaa-san*."

After dinner, Naruto and Sakura helped the Uchiha's clean up. They each split the clean-up tasks, Naruto and Sasuke competing to see who could wash the most dishes in the least amount of time, while Mikoto and Fugaku dried them and put them away. Sakura and Itachi put away leftovers and wiped down the table. They finished their cleaning before the rest of the family, so they headed to the porch for a game of shogi before bed.

They were silent for a little while, and the soft 'clack' of the game pieces landing on the board was the only sound besides the creatures of the night. The two of them were lost in their thoughts, Itachi mulling over whatever had been bothering him, while Sakura contemplated the best way to tease it out of him. Itachi was never very forthcoming with information.

Finally, she decided to go with the straightforward approach. "Something is bothering you," she said matter-of-factly, moving her knight to take one of his pawns. He blinked at her, as if surprised he had been caught. "Why would you say that?" He replied, dropping the bishop that he had stolen from her earlier onto his side of the board.

"Because you're acting strangely Itachi. You've been distracted," she replied, moving her lance forward to take one of his silver generals, almost as if to prove a point. "You never make shogi this easy. And you've been quiet, even for you. You seemed worried when I left you at the Hokage's office, and suspicious when I told you the results of the poison analysis."

He paused before answering, moving her captured bishop to take out the lance she had just moved. "That was cheap," she muttered under her breath. He smiled, then responded to her earlier inquiry. "I'm just concerned that the leak is even bigger than you suggested. The shinobi that ran from us used a body disposal jutsu on themselves – that's an Anbu level jutsu, and is used to hide secrets from enemies. I believe that they're working under someone else, who is pulling the strings." She nodded in acceptance, though the suspicion was still clear on her face.

He wasn't necessarily lying to her, but what he told her was a mere sliver of the truth. What he was truly concerned about was an issue that's roots ran deep into the nightmares of his past. Deep into secrets that he would take to his grave.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Those secrets were eating him alive.

Itachi tossed restlessly in his sleep, eyes moving rapidly behind his eyelids, breath coming in heavy pants. Sweat beaded on his brow, and he grunted and flinched at some unknown threat.

He could _see_ it, could see the blood splattering the walls, the voices of the innocent crying in agony and betrayal as his blade came down, again, and again, and again. Blood spatter stained his face and hands, and clung in his hair. And Itachi stood among the piles of dead, unfeeling, a shell. He had killed every human emotion in his heart to get the job done. He was merely a machine with a pulse, a monster capable of such terrible things. And even after their deaths, their voices would follow him, would mock him from the recesses of his barren soul.

And then, a raspy voice taunted from the shadows. "I'm going to take them from you, Itachi. Every person you dare to love, I will crush beneath my feet. You won't be able to save them. I'm going to take them all, and leave you with the pain of your failure."

"Nngh!" Itachi tossed even more fitfully than before, hands curling into fists around his sheets. "No. Leave them alone. Hurt me instead. They don't even know… they don't know! I won't tell them, I promise…."

And then he shot straight up in bed, chest heaving and eyes flitting about the room. A tapping noise from the window is what had woken him. He turned, forcing himself to calm down, and invited the white-masked Anbu agent inside, before standing up to gather his gear.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

On the other side of the wall, Sakura lay awake in the Uchiha family's guest room, listening to the unintelligible murmurs and rustling coming from Itachi's room. She knew he was having a nightmare. He had them frequently. Sometimes, he would wake from them and go to the roof, afraid to go back to sleep. On those nights, she would join him. And sometimes, he would lay back on the roof tiles beside her, close his eyes and tell her quietly about what had been bothering him. Other times he simply sat beside her, taking in her supportive presence.

She knew there was far more bothering him than the half-hearted excuse he gave her over shogi. Itachi may be able to fool anybody else, but not her. And she was determined to find out what was going on. Perhaps tonight, when he went to the roof after his nightmare, he would be more open to her.

But it wasn't to be. She felt the approach of another shinobi at Itachi's window, and heard murmurs of whispered conversation. Then shuffling noises, the opening of drawers as he hastily dressed and armed himself. She lie awake, waiting. A soft knock came at the door, and he cracked her bedroom door open. "Sakura?" He whispered. She sat up, and he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm headed out. Anbu mission. I'll probably be gone for about a week."

She nodded, indicating that she understood. "Be careful Itachi. Whatever has been bothering you, don't let it distract you." He sighed. So she was still determined to learn his secret. Sakura could be so painfully stubborn sometimes. Really, he was only trying to protect her. He knew well what would happen once she found out, and he wasn't about to take risks. "Well… I'll see you when I get back," he replied, deciding to disregard her comment.

And then he was gone, the breeze from the open window the only sign that he had been there in the first place.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! I found the info for how to play shogi on wikipedia, if anyone is interested. And yes, I realize Fugaku is** _ **way**_ **OOC, but I like him that way (It** _ **is**_ **a fanfiction after all. He can be whatever I want him to be). Please review and let me know how you liked it!**

 **-nii - brother**

 **Kaa-san – Mother**

 **Music inspiration/playlist for this chapter: Hollywood Died – Yellowcard, Lights and Sounds – Yellowcard, Not Your Fault – Awolnation, Howl – Beware of Darkness, It Ends Tonight – The All-American Rejects, Nightmare – Avenged Sevenfold.**


	4. The Brewing of a Storm

The Darkest Secrets

Chapter Three: The Brewing of a Storm

 **A/N: And now we finally get into some action! Lots to be revealed in this chapter. Also thank you to Sanban and Eliana Debrey for reviewing!**

Konoha village's remaining elders, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, stood in a shadowed room deep underground, they only source of light a single flickering candle. The hooded cloaks they wore obscured most of their faces. Secrecy was almost second nature to the veteran shinobi, who had spent the majority of their lives performing questionable acts right below the Hokage's nose – though they were very careful to never be implicated if their schemes came to light.

After all – that very thing is what caused Danzo, their former co-councilman, to flee the village.

The two elders tensed ever so slightly as a human form disentangled itself from the shadows, relaxing only when it came to rest on one knee in front of them. A perfectly blank, smooth porcelain mask hid the features of the Root agent before them, and he tilted his head ever so slightly, awaiting permission to speak.

"What news do you have?" Koharu asked, her aged voice like the rustling of old papers. The agent withdrew a small scroll and laid it on the ground before them, simply replying "The hawk sends his regard," before melding back into the shadows. He was one of the few Root Danzo had left behind in Konoha, presumably for some heinous act of subterfuge and sabotage. All the two elders knew was that he had apparently been appointed to act as a liaison between them, offering only vague information.

The old war-mongerer had always been a cautious one, after all.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kakashi lounged on a rooftop somewhere beneath the Hokage Mountain, his face in a book. Not that he could see much in the dark. He supposed he shouldn't ditch Tenzou and make him give the report – after all, he was always kind of mean to his kohai* - but really, it was an easy mission, and the report should be easy as well. They had only been gone for a few hours, and he was a little put out that he had missed out on the team dinner.

A quiet scuffing noise drew his attention to a spot along the cliff face. He stopped trying to read and instead paid close attention to the rock wall, keeping up the guise of reading.

Then, part of the rock wall was shifting out, and a rather non-descript shinobi in a blank Anbu mask stepped out on a rock ledge, looking around cautiously before jumping away.

 _Interesting._

There wasn't a secret passage there that he knew of. He had the highest level of clearance in the Anbu ranks, and if there _were_ a secret passage there for Anbu to use, then he would know about it. So he had a sneaking suspicion that this guy was not one of their own. And why all the caution? Was he meeting someone? Eyes narrowed, Kakashi quickly summoned Pakkun. The little pug appeared before him, and he silently signaled the ninken to follow the strange shinobi. He then moved onto one of the Hokage faces above the passageway, staring intently down at the opening. He didn't have to wait long. Two cloaked figures emerged and also sped away from the mountain. Kakashi gave chase, remaining in the shadows so as not to be seen, but then there two simultaneous 'poofs', and his suspects were gone.

Well damn.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

 _5 days later_

Tsunade sat at her desk, and bottle of sake in hand. Several reports were laid out in front of her. The one nearest was a map, drawn by a Hyuuga she had sent to survey the Hokage Mountain's secret passageways.

5 days ago she was woken up from a nice little nap by that Hatake brat, who _insisted_ that the information he had was more important than her nap. The news of unknown passages and strange meetings was troubling indeed. Who knew what else could be lurking right beneath her nose. Frustratingly, they hadn't made very much progress. Just a couple days ago she had assigned a team of Anbu to surveillance at the secret passageway Kakashi had uncovered. The Hyuuga she sent out for surveillance had identified two more passages yesterday, one of which even led outside of the village's western border. Anbu teams had been assigned to those as well. Kakashi would be taking command of all three surveillance teams once he took the required 24 hours off after his last mission.

She would have liked to put Itachi on the case as an advisor, to help her sift through the information, but he had left on a solo mission not long before Kakashi's report came in. So she had done the next best thing and put his second-in-command on it. Shisui sat perched on the corner of the desk, poring over similar reports.

They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Yugao, the captain of one of the surveillance teams. She was out of breath, and offered only a hasty bow before moving right into her report.

"Hokage-sama! We've captured someone coming out of the western passageway! They've been brought down to the interrogations unit, and Ibiki should be working on him as we speak." She took a deep breath, straightening from her half-bow before pulling a scroll from her kunai pouch. It was covered in intricate seals. "We found this on him. It looks like he's been acting as a messenger for someone."

Tsunade grinned. Looks like they were finally getting to the bottom of things. She began to stand "Well then, this is good news-" But she was interrupted by Yugao.

"Hokage-sama," She began quietly. "The man that we captured. He reminds me of Danzo's old Root faction. Perfectly emotionless. Carries out orders and nothing else. Even has a blank Anbu mask. If that's who we're dealing with…. He won't talk. He won't be able to. As you recall, the Root members we've attempted to interrogate in the past had their tongues sealed."

Tsunade sucked in a deep breath, suddenly feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her. If _he_ was involved…. Well, it wouldn't be good, to say the least. It made sense though, especially with what Itachi had disclosed to her after his last mission. But no one else knew about that. And she had promised to keep it that way. It would seem as though Danzo was lurking about fire country. Not good. He must be planning something big.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shuffling of papers at her desk as Shisui neatly stacked the reports at the end of the desk and stood. He face was perfectly blank, though his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil. Shisui was always the most expressive of the Uchiha, after all. He looked between Tsunade and Yugao, shifting from leg to leg anxiously.

She got the hint.

"Yugao, you're dismissed. Take that scroll straight to the Anbu cipher corp., and then report to Ibiki and tell him I'll be down shortly." Yugao bowed quickly in the direction of her Hokage before racing off to complete her orders.

She then turned to Shisui, who immediately blurted "Send me out on surveillance!"

She shook her head. Knowing the history between the Uchiha and Danzo – something that she had only learned when she became Hokage, seeing as it was the village's best kept secret – she absolutely could not send Shisui out after him. At least not alone.

"Two days. Two days and Itachi will be back. Wait for him and then take Anbu squad one out. I can't let you go alone, especially after –"

"Hokage-sama," he interjected calmly (she seemed to be getting interrupted a lot today), "By then, Danzo will have realized that his spy is missing. You're right, this _is_ personal for me. Which makes it all the more fitting for me to go, don't you think?" He grinned. "Besides, I swear I'll stay out of sight. Surveillance only. I promise." He gave her the same winning smile that Naruto used to make her heart melt.

She cursed softly. He was right. Danzo _would_ be missing his operative soon. "Fine. But you are _not_ to engage. If the enemy discovers your location use an emergency reverse summoning scroll to return immediately to the village. Do you understand me?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," was his solemn reply. A short burst of smoke and Shisui Uchiha was gone.

She had a bad feeling about this.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi stood in an open field, outnumbered and utterly surrounded by enemy shinobi. Their strangely hollow eyes followed his every movement, and their movements were awkward and jerky, like marionettes. They had to be under the effects of some kind of jutsu. They were all rogues, by the looks of it – but from mixed villages, indicated by the slashed-out village symbols on their headbands. A few of them he recognized from Konoha's own bingo book. They had just interrupted him on his return home from an urgent information exchange with Jiraiya.

Looks like someone didn't want him to return.

He was already heavily wounded, after taking down about half of the enemy forces. A gash across his chest was oozing a rather concerning amount of blood. A deep stab wound in his thigh made movement difficult, and another stab wound to his back had come dangerously close to his spine. He was dizzy, and his chakra was nearly depleted. This was becoming far more than he bargained for.

He only had enough chakra to put off one more large-scale jutsu – and then he was finished. It would be risky, since he hadn't fully mastered it, having little use for such a jutsu on team missions. But he closed his eyes and centered himself, feeling a horrid burn along his optic nerve as his sharingan morphed into a new form.

His eyes opened slowly, taking in a world that was so sharply defined, so very crystal clear. Everything appeared to move in slow motion, before his Mangekyo. The final level of sharingan was dangerous to its user, being born of extreme hatred or sorrow. His had developed all those years ago, amidst the trauma of the almost-massacre. Softly, he whispered the name of his most destructive jutsu. " _Amaterasu."_

The terrible screams of his enemy rent the air as they were consumed by a flame that could not be put out, not until its target was completely consumed.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Shisui tailed the shadowed form of the old man ahead of him, carefully creeping through the shadows undetected – or so he thought. Some would argue that the batshit crazy grin on the old bastard's face would mean that his presence had been noted. Then again, Danzo was just plain crazy. And old.

He followed him like this for several miles, until they came to a decrepit old building covered in vines, so that the original structure was barely visible. The building was nestled in a wide crevice of earth, situated so that you might miss it if you were simply passing through. It looked as though there had once been a raging river beneath it, but a dam that he could just make out about half a kilometer down the gorge held back the raging waters.

So this is where Danzo had been hiding.

Retreating further into the shadows, Shisui withdrew his emergency teleportation scroll. He was not willing to risk a more traditional escape. Not with the precious information he now bore. He looked ahead of him one last time to ensure that the old man hadn't seen him….

He wasn't there.

A soft chuckle behind him had him whirling to face the former village elder. "Looks can be so deceiving, can't they Shisui? You underestimated me, simply by virtue of age."

As he spoke, his hand snapped out lightning fast, gripping the end of the teleportation scroll and wrenching it from a stunned Shisui's grasp. "Now," Danzo drawled. "Won't you stay a while? We have so much to discuss."

' _Damn,'_ he thought. _'Too careless.'_

But it was far too late for regrets.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi stumbled into a cave not far from the battle field, which was blessedly unoccupied. He slumped against the rock wall, breathing heavily, everything before him a mere blur. It had, of course, started downpouring as he made his way to a safe shelter in which to recover, and he was now soaked to the bone.

He had overdone it. He couldn't even summon the chakra for the tiniest fire jutsu to warm himself with.

It would be at least an hour before he even had enough chakra to activate the emergency teleportation scroll. In his slightly delirious state he nearly laughed at the irony. Some 'emergency' scroll.

He leaned back against the wall, trying desperately to maintain consciousness as he slowly bled out. Eventually, he began to grasp at any random thought to keep himself occupied and awake. The first thing he thought about was what Sakura would be up to right now. Probably working in the hospital. The thought of the kunoichi brought on a sudden surge of guilt. He had lied to her. He didn't like to do it, but he had thought it necessary. Hell, he didn't even tell Shisui, and Shisui had been involved from the very beginning.

What had he lied about again? His brain was getting all fuzzy. Oh yeah. That mission. The scroll. The seal at the top of the scroll that depicted a blood red eye, decorated with a design unique to one man's mangekyo – Uchiha Madara.

Beneath that, a short message written in a cipher that he had used only once before – 13 years ago.

He hadn't been able to read very much of it – after all, the damn thing had burst into flame – but a name within the message had stood out to him immediately.

Danzo.

The thought of any sort of connection between the two made his blood run cold. And suddenly, alone and bleeding in a cave, Itachi felt that he was very far in over his head. He began to doubt the wisdom of keeping Shisui in the dark.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura finished the last of the necessary chakra-healing on the Genin she was treating. Next, she just had to draw up the needed intravenous Decadron* to reduce the swelling in the young man's brain…. She turned to the nurse attending patients with her today, a cheerful nurse named Mai. "Mai-chan, would you mind bringing me 40 milligrams of Decadron IV?"

The nurse smiled and nodded, turning to go towards the med room. "Of course Haruno-sama! Be back soon!" As she exited the room she bumped straight into the Hokage. "Oh! I'm so sorry Hokage-sama!" she said with a bow. "Wait a moment Mai," Tsunade said. "I need you to check on the patient in 34B first. They were complaining of severe abdominal pain. Would you mind assessing them?"

"Of course!" She said with another bow. Then she turned and bowed to Sakura. "Sumimasen*, Sakura-sama."

"It's no problem, Mai." With that, Sakura headed off the med room to draw up the Decadron herself. Releasing the seal on the med room door located behind the nurse's station, she walked in and searched along the shelves for the drug she needed. Pulling down a vial, she screwed a needle onto a plastic syringe and inserted it into the vial's stopper. She began to pull back on the plunger, when suddenly, the vial cracked, liquid oozing out onto the worktop.

A feeling of dread filled her at the sight of the bad omen*. Just then, Tsunade entered the med room, her back turned to Sakura as she rummaged through the shelves. "So Mai's 6-month review is coming up. You've been working with her a lot lately. What do you think of her?" Sakura was silent as she stared down at the broken vial. She mentally began to go through the list of people she knew who were out on missions. Kakashi and Tenzou got home five days ago. She had just seen Naruto and Sasuke this morning. As far as she knew the rest of the rookie nine was grounded as well. That left Itachi.

"Tsunade-sama, when is Itachi due back from his mission?" Tsunade turned and strode towards Sakura, irritated that her question had been ignored. Then she saw the mess on the table. "Hmmm. He should be back in two days. But, maybe I should send a messenger hawk, just to check in." Sakura nodded, brushing off the strange incident. "Now, about Mai…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi's eyes snapped open, a moment of brief panic filling him before he realized where he was. The cave he had taken refuge in swam before his bleary eyes as he blinked rapidly. Damn. He had fallen asleep. Checking his chakra reserves, he found that he had just slightly more than he needed to perform the jutsu for the teleportation scroll. So he hadn't been out for very long. Opening the scroll, he formed the necessary hand signs before slamming his hand down into the center of the intricate seal.

The teleportation scroll dropped him straight into the Hokage's office. He could report in, and then she would take care of these rather concerning injuries.

Scanning the office, he noted that it was completely empty. The Hokage was not at her desk. His vision blurred even more, his head throbbed and he swayed dangerously on his feet. The sudden expenditure of what little chakra he had left him feeling like he was going to pass out. His toes began to tingle as the injury to his back continued to bleed, and his legs felt weak. He needed to find a medic.

Turning his gaze towards the large office windows, he noted that it was nighttime. Probably midnight, by the position of the moon. Sakura wouldn't mind if he woke her. Or at least that's what he hoped. Honing in on her chakra signature, he formed the hand seals for a short-range teleportation jutsu. He could only pray that she would wake at his presence, because he was definitely going to pass out this time.

The Hokage's office tore away from him and he was deposited none-to-gently on the bedroom floor of his best friend. He saw a blob of pink rushing to his side and hovering over him.

He managed only a weak grin in the general direction of that pink blob before he finally passed out.

 **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

 **Kohai – Protégé or junior**

 **Decadron – A steroid drug used to manage increased pressure on the brain from an injury or tumor (this is what we're studying in nursing school right now. Can you tell?)**

 **Sumimasen – A casual apology to use when you have inconvenienced someone in a small way.**

 **Bad omen (the vial cracking) – In the Naruto anime, sometimes when bad things happen, one of the other characters will see their tea cup crack (Temari when Gaara was kidnapped, for example) It's considered a bad omen. I thought a vial would be a suitable substitute for a tea cup.**

 **A/N: So there's definitely a lot going on in this chapter. The next chapter will be a bit slower, and will develop Itachi's relationship with Sakura a little more (although of course, we need to find out what happens to poor Shisui). So? Did you love it? Hate it? Please, please, review!**


	5. Survivor's Guilt

The Darkest Secrets

Chapter Four: Survivor's Guilt

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This makes me sad.**

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Very slowly, he began to regain consciousness, as one by one his senses returned. First, he heard a faint, steady beeping, growing louder by the moment. Next, a distinctly sterile scent flooded his nostrils, with an undercurrent of other, less pleasant odors. Then, he was able to taste the metallic tang of old blood on his tongue. He felt the roughness of the standard hospital sheets on his arms.

Finally, he attempted to open his heavy eyelids, and promptly squeezed them shut as the overhead lights blinded him. He attempted to open them again, once, twice more before he was successful. The sight that greeted him was one of the drab, windowless underground hospital rooms set aside for members of the Anbu black ops.

Shifting his body ever so slightly, he determined that he was fairly stiff, but otherwise not in any kind of pain. Looking down at his bare chest, he noted a thin, raised scar across his chest. He had no doubt there would be similar ones on his thigh and back. There were also some EKG stickers stuck to his chest, which were hooked up to the source of the beeping on his left. A heart monitor. He watched the steady rhythm for a moment, before being somewhat startled by a squeezing sensation on his left arm. A blood pressure cuff was there, apparently set to inflate at a certain interval. His blood pressure reading flashed up on the screen next to his heart rhythm. 110/70. Continuing his perusal, he noted an IV line in his right arm, which was attached to two bags of fluids hanging from a pole to his right. An oxygen sensor was also taped onto his right ring finger.

Inspection of his physical condition complete, he began to look around the room. Directly across from his bed, mounted on the plain white walls, was a dry erase board announcing the date, and the name of his nurse for the day. According to the white board, he had been out for about three days. The bedside table was filled with sweets and fruit, which he assumed were brought by his mother. A half-eaten container of tomatoes indicated that his brother had also been present. Lastly, in the far right corner of the room was a closed, windowless door.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and Sakura strode into the room, a chart tucked under one arm and a large cup of coffee in hand. She gave him a relieved grin upon noticing that he was awake.

"You're damn lucky I was still awake when you dropped in on me, Uchiha."

He gave her an answering grin, pushing himself into a sitting position, to which his sore muscles protested. "Ah, I had every confidence that you wouldn't let me meet such a pathetic end." She snorted and muttered something that sounded vaguely like "Suck-up." Then, hands lighting with medical chakra, she began a short examination, her chakra weaving its way through muscles and organs, soothing and healing as it went. "Well," she sighed, sitting at the edge of the bed, "I no longer see a need to keep you here, since you're awake." She reached over to his left arm and unfastened the blood pressure cuff with a flick of her wrist. Then, pulling some gauze and tape from her pocket, she began carefully removing his IV line.

He thought for a moment that he should remove his own EKG stickers. After all, he was perfectly capable. But something compelled him to let her do it. He leaned back on his elbows, watching as she peeled off his oxygen sensor. Then her hands – rough and scarred from years of holding kunai and shuriken – reached up towards his chest, gently brushing against his bare skin as she methodically removed the gel-like stickers. His stomach fluttered in the strangest way, and for a moment it felt as though his heart were beating in his throat.

He blinked and took a slow, deep breath to clear his head. _'What the hell was that?'_ Suddenly, something soft landed on top of his head, blocking out his vision. He pulled it off his head and realized that it was a clean shirt from his bedroom. He looked up at Sakura, whose back was now turned to him as she jotted notes in his chart. "Your other shirt has holes in it," she replied, as though reading his mind.

He slipped it over his head and stood, the hem of the standard issue hospital bottoms just brushing the tops of his feet. Slipping on his sandals, which he found on the floor at the foot of the bed, he followed Sakura through the door when she beckoned him forward.

"The Hokage wanted you to go see her immediately when you woke up," she informed him, as they climbed the steps back up into the main portion of the hospital. He gave a quiet "Hn," of acknowledgement. Reaching the top of the steps, and the hall near Sakura's office, she turned to him and shot him a cheeky grin. "Hey, after this we can go for some light training. You know, get you back in shape after that three-day nap you decided to take. Lazy butt." He narrowed his eyes at her, a slight twitch of his lips betraying his mirth. "I assure you, Sakura-chan, my butt is anything but lazy." Her jade eyes widened in surprise, a very faint blush touching her cheeks.

"Ah, well, I need to file your chart now, so…" she began to turn away, but his hand reached out lightning fast to grab her elbow. "Thank you, Sakura," He said sincerely. She nodded and smiled before continuing on her way.

Once she was out of sight, Itachi sighed heavily and slumped against the nearest wall. What in the hell was he doing? This was Sakura! His friend, and his brother's teammate. It was wrong, wrong, wrong. _'But why is it wrong?'_ a tiny voice asked from the back of his head. _'She's the only woman besides your mother that you've ever been completely comfortable around. Admit it. Even Hana unsettles you, and she's been on your team for years.'_ Shaking his head to clear his wayward thoughts, he straightened up and made his way towards Hokage tower. He could think about this more later. Right now, he had his duties to attend to.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The air in here was surprisingly dry, considering that the dammed up river rested only about 100 feet from the decrepit hideout. His skin itched from the lack of moisture and the film of dirt that now coated him like a second skin. Down the right side of his face he could feel the crust of dried blood. His arms had long ago gone numb, his fingers a slightly concerning shade of dark purple. The skin of his wrists were raw where they hung in shackles, suspended from the low ceiling.

The cells themselves were made of floor-to-ceiling rusted iron bars, a section of which swung out like a door and was locked in place by an equally as rusty chain and padlock. If he weren't chained in place, it might have even been easy to escape. But try as he might, he wasn't strong enough to break free of his bonds. Where the hell was Sakura when you needed her? This would be child's play for someone with her abilities. He rubbed the empty socket that used to contain his right eye against his shoulder. It itched like crazy, and the purulent goop left on his sleeve told him that it was most likely infected. Fabulous. He'd have to pay her a visit to take care of this nasty eye-socket, if he ever got out. Then he could try all the cyclops jokes that he'd been working on. He almost looked forward to getting whacked in the head for his poor choice in humor.

A sharp pain shot through his empty stomach, accompanied by a loud, high pitched growling noise. He nearly laughed. Pathetic. Of all the things that could have killed him, it was going to be starvation in a stupid, empty dungeon.

Well, almost empty. Some unfortunate corpse sat rotting two cells down, apparently forgotten. Or maybe left on purpose. The constant exposure to the scent of rotting flesh was a torture unto itself, after all. He shifted slightly against the cold dirt floor, trying to shift his battered body into a more comfortable position. However, the chains attached to his outstretched legs didn't allow him very much movement.

Danzo was now in possession of his right eye, the very same eye that contained the power of _Kotoamatsukami._ Now, what Danzo was planning to do with such power, was the real problem. The old man had yet to reveal anything to Shisui, despite the younger ninja's best attempts to goad him into releasing even the smallest of details. So he was locked up here, with no food or water, a smelly rotting corpse, and he was missing an eye. And he couldn't even gather any useful information.

The normally cheerful Shisui Uchiha was getting very, very cranky.

Idly, he watched as a fat looking rat scurried over to the corpse-cell, probably off to pick his meal from the poor man's bones. Bits of dust floated through a thin shaft of light provided by a small vent-hole at the top of the wall. Not that the vent hole worked very well. It smelled awful in here.

The week allotted to him for this mission by the Hokage would be over soon. He could only hope that she sent reinforcements quickly.

A telling step-shuffle and tap of a cane gave away the presence of his jailer before he even reached the prison door. The squealing of un-oiled hinges rang out harshly in the silent room, causing him to wince.

In stepped Danzo, this time sporting bandages wrapped over his right eye, indicating that Shisui's eye was most likely underneath. The Uchiha's one remaining eye flashed in rage as he struggled to assume a more aggressive stance, chained as he was. The elder shinobi simply laughed, a raspy, phlegmy sort of sound that was just as abrasive as the squealing door.

"Ah, Shisui-kun. Always so spirited." He unlocked the cell's padlock and allowed the chain to clatter onto the floor. Shisui stopped struggling and resorted to glaring with his one good eye. The old man chuckled as he closed the distance between them. He set his cane down on the floor as he came to a stop and crouched in front of him.

"You'll be pleased to know that your eye will not go to waste. It's adapting quite well to its new host." He then chuckled, a dark and sickly sound. "Your sacrifice will be instrumental in saving Konoha from itself. But just in case, should something go amiss…."

He began to reach forward, towards Shisui's other eye.

The Uchiha began to struggle again, attempting to kick out at his captor, but being held back by his shackles. So instead, he twisted his face away, and told himself that he would bite the old bastard's fingers off if he tried to take his other eye.

In his attempt at defiance, he didn't notice Danzo signal to two Root operatives just outside of the room. They rushed forward and wrenched his head into position, taking him by surprise and holding him still. Again, those fingers reached towards his eye. He felt a searing pain, and then….

Complete darkness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Shikamaru Nara lounged across a desk deep in the bowels of the Anbu building, where the Cipher Corp. was located. In front of him sat a rather irritating problem that the Hokage had handed to him a couple days ago.

' _How troublesome.'_

The damn scroll had to be covered in at least a dozen different wards and traps. He couldn't just clumsily break his way through them either. That might cause the scroll to self-destruct. No. This had to be solved delicately. Like those stupid metal wire puzzles. Forcing it would get him nowhere. It was all about finesse.

' _This is such a drag.'_

He had broken through 10 of them already. That left two that he could still see. Though he would have to give it a more thorough inspection once he finished with these two.

For this next one, it appeared that he would need to find the proper number and order of hand signs. He would then have to apply only a minimal amount of chakra, to see if the trap would weaken. Too much chakra with a wrong combination, and he might set it off. Forming a few hand seals, he placed his palm at the center of the scroll and leaked a small amount of chakra into it. Nothing. He tried again four times, before the scroll in front of him began to waver, almost like a mirage. _There!_ Adding more chakra, he unlocked the 11th obstacle. Repeating the process, he eventually broke through the 12th, as well.

He carefully examined the scroll for anything he may have missed.

Nothing.

Holding his breath, he slowly peeled open the scroll…. Only to find a very complex, triple encoded cipher.

He groaned out loud, slamming his head down on the desk. "Ugh, Troublesome!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"He _what?_ " Itachi asked, incredulous. Tsunade sighed. "He asked me to send him out on surveillance of Danzo."

He sat down heavily in the chair across from the Hokage's desk, rubbing at his forehead in frustration. "And he was allowed to go?" He asked. Tsunade merely nodded.

"Hokage-sama, especially after that scroll I found, I don't think it is wise for him to be out there alone. Please allow me to go after him."

"Following him out on such a dangerous and delicate mission could give up his position. And then the both of you would be in a tight spot. He was given one week. His week is up in three days. If he has not returned or sent word by then, take a team out to find him. Perhaps sending him out was unwise, but at the time, it was my best option."

Standing, Itachi nodded in acceptance, knowing that she was right. "Is that all, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, she replied. Chose a team now that would be suitable for either outcome. When Shisui returns, we will need to act upon his findings. If he does not, then we will deploy a rescue team. I strongly encourage you to include a medic. Since there aren't very many in Anbu, you may choose from the Jounin ranks as well."

He nodded grimly. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

And then he disappeared.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura was lounging across the top of a large boulder located on the training grounds, waiting for Itachi to arrive. She ran a fallen leaf between her fingers as she absently stared up at the clouds, a habit she had adopted from the young Nara genius.

She thought through the odd behaviors exhibited by the Uchiha heir. It was rare that he ever kept secrets from her, unless they were strictly classified. And considering that she was the Hokage's apprentice, few things were ever kept from her. She could see how much it was bothering him, whatever it was. The signs were subtle, but they were there. It was in the way he got lost in his thoughts, a slightly furrowed brow indicating his distress. That normally wouldn't be enough to concern anybody. Anyone else would have brushed it off and moved on with their lives. And she wouldn't blame them. As an elite shinobi, Itachi was a _very_ good liar. She had no doubt that he could trick the whole village into thinking he was some sort of super villain without much difficulty. But not her. Never her.

Her thoughts were cut short by the muffled sound of footsteps coming across the grass of the training field. Sitting up, she saw Itachi headed her way. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and his tied-back hair was draped over one shoulder. He was looking up at the clouds, much as she had just been. For all the world, he appeared casual and relaxed. But there was a tension in his shoulders that didn't go unnoticed by the pink haired medic.

She slid down from the boulder and approached him, coming to a stop just in front of him. She assumed a fighting stance in front of him. Looking up into his eyes, she joked, "Took you long enough." He too, sank into a fighting stance, an insufferable smirk plastered onto his handsome face. "Did you miss me, Sakura-chan?"

She stuck out her tongue. "Taijutsu and kunai only." She stated.

And the fight was on.

The two of them traded blows for several minutes, none of their strikes reaching the other combatant. Then, a smirking Sakura leapt back and drove a chakra-enhanced punch into the ground, shattering the earth. Itachi had already anticipated her attack and jumped back several feet, landing in a safe zone. Once the dust had settled, he launched himself over the unstable ground, three kunai in each hand. He threw them towards Sakura with perfect accuracy. Just as they were about to connect, there was a poof, and a log rested where she had once been. But he wasn't concerned. He never lost a spar against Sakura.

He landed cat-like on the ground, and then stood, quickly scanning the tree line and the sky above. She was nowhere to be seen. Then, she must have gotten a little further into the forest.

Just as he was about to step forward, though, a hand latched onto his ankle. Too late, he recognized it as the copy ninja's decapitation technique. Within a fraction of a second, he found himself mostly underground, completely unable to move his body. Only his head remained above the ground. He blinked up at Sakura, completely stunned. He had… lost?

His expression must have been pretty priceless, because Sakura suddenly dropped to the ground, clutching her stomach as she laughed hysterically. "You," She gasped out. "You should… hah… see your… hehe… see yourself." She sat up, wiping at the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes, still laughing. When she looked back down at him, his shocked expression was gone, replaced by one of mixed annoyance and grudging respect. "When did you learn that?" He asked. He had never seen her use it before. She flapped her hand dismissively. "Oh, I got bored while you were taking your little snooze, so I asked Kakashi to train with me a bit."

He snorted softly. "Either way, you cheated. You said taijutsu and kunai only, and yet you used a ninjutsu to defeat me." She patted his head, smirking. "I'm a ninja, 'Tachi-kun. It doesn't count as cheating. It's called being sneaky." His eyebrow twitched at the nickname she used specifically to annoy him. She shifted so that she was cross-legged in front of him, and applied chakra to one finger, using it to carefully break up the earth around him. He wriggled free and lifted himself out of the hole, brushing dirt off of himself, with little success. He was still caked in the stuff. He sighed heavily. "Guess I need to go shower," he muttered to himself, plucking at his shirt. Sakura giggled again, amused by his sudden grumpiness.

Tsunade had always told her that she should learn one thing from every fight, no matter how small.

Today she learned that Uchiha Itachi was a sore loser. But in the most adorable way.

She leaned back and watched him grumble to himself, a soft smile lighting up her face. And unbeknownst to her, the way she viewed him began to change, morphing into something that neither of them could have ever expected.

 **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

 **A/N: Happy Easter! (To those of you who celebrate it)**

 **Wow. I'm being awfully mean to Shisui, aren't I? Poor guy. But on the bright side, we now have the growing feelings between Sakura and Itachi.**

 **I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter. Over 3,000 words! I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed (Sanban and RedToast)**

 **RedToast: I watched shippuden episode 453 yesterday. Itachi is so adorable as a kid! Especially when they had to wear the cat ears for that mission… too precious.**

 **As always folks, please review! I enjoy reading them very much.**

 **Until next time, TheDayDreamingInsomniac**


	6. A Fool's Errand

The Darkest Secrets

Chapter Five: A Fool's Errand

 **Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Naruto. I just like to use the characters for my own nefarious plans.**

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Sakura lay across the foot of Itachi's bed, waiting for him to finish with the shower. She had gone home with him after they finished at the training grounds, mainly because she was bored. She hadn't had a single mission in the last two weeks, and she had finally caught up with all of her work at the hospital. The normally busy kunoichi just had no idea what to do with herself when she had downtime. Thankfully, Itachi didn't seem to mind her presence. Besides that, she was still concerned about him. The entire way back to his house he was completely spaced out. He didn't even notice she was talking to him until she waved her hand in front of his face. An enemy ninja could have jumped out at him and he would have just kept walking.

The door to his room swung open and Itachi stepped in, clad in only a pair of pajama pants, with a towel draped around his bare shoulders, and his hair damp and loose from his normal ponytail. A small movement caught her eye, and her eyes tracked a droplet of water as it dripped from his hair and streaked down across his well-muscled chest, into the grooves of his rigid abdominal muscles, and down, down, until it reached the well-cut V line of his hips and…. She blinked, shaking her head slightly and forced herself to look elsewhere. She browsed the titles emblazoned on the spines of dozens of books on the bookshelf beside his bed.

However, the opening of his closet door drew her attention to him once more. She looked over just in time to watch him drop his towel into the laundry basket next to the closet, and watched him bend down to one of the lower shelves to retrieve an old t-shirt, his newly exposed back muscles rippling as he straightened up and pulled the shirt over his head. She breathed a sigh of relief as his naked torso disappeared from view. 'Really… get a grip, girl.'

Itachi strode over to the desk next to his bookshelf, plucking a hairbrush from the polished wood surface. He sat on the bed beside Sakura, quickly and efficiently running the brush through his long, slightly damp hair, before putting it back up with his customary red hair tie.

She waited until he was done before she sat up, facing him.

"Shogi?" He asked quietly.

She nodded. "Before that though… since I won our sparring match earlier, you have to tell me what's been bothering you the last few days. And tell me the truth, Uchiha. You know I can tell when you're lying."

"I don't recall making that deal," he deadpanned.

"It was implied," she replied flippantly, waving him off. Then she fixed him with a more serious expression. "Hey… I'm just worried about you, okay?"

He took a deep breath and nodded, looking away. "Well there's not much I _can_ tell you."

"Classified?" She asked. He raised a brow. "It was implied."

She flicked him in the forehead, a small amount of chakra behind it. "Ow," He grumbled, rubbing at his forehead. "Feh… now you know how Sasuke feels," she retorted, wagging her finger in front of his face.

He was silent for several moments, his mind straying to the potential rescue mission ahead. He just had this horrible gut feeling about the whole thing…. Tsunade had wanted him to take a medic, and if it was Shisui's life in that hung in the balance… well, there was no one he trusted more than Sakura. But to get her involved in this mess would, with absolute certainty, put her life at risk. It was no secret that they were close, and that could easily be used against him. At her expense. It was absolutely unacceptable.

Sakura waited patiently, used to his long pauses while he gathered his thoughts. Uchiha Itachi was a man who preferred to use his words to the greatest effect, after all.

Finally, he answered her. "It has to do with a mission coming up. And that's all I can say. I mean it Sakura. Someday I may be able to tell you more, but for right now, please just trust that I can handle it."

She sighed, defeated. "Alright. Just be careful. Come back to me, ok?"

He grinned at her. "Always."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke knocked softly on his elder brother's bedroom door, and waited patiently for a response. It was just past midnight, but he could still hear Itachi shuffling around inside. A soft call of "Come in," had the younger Uchiha stepping into the room. Itachi was sitting cross legged on the floor, documents and maps spread in a half circle around him, and a blank scroll for taking notes. He began swiftly packing them away as the door opened, settling them in an empty space on his bookshelf. He stood a faced Sasuke when he was finished.

"Preparing for a mission?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the stack of papers. "Hn," Itachi grunted, reverting to the monosyllabic language that all Uchiha seemed to share. "Ah," Sasuke said. To any outsider, the conversations between the brothers might appear as an interaction between crazy people. Or at least that's what Naruto said.

Itachi sat neatly on the foot of his bed, Sasuke following in a far less dignified manner. The younger Uchiha lay sprawled out on the rest of the bed, feet near the top, so that he looked at his brother upside down. Itachi reached over and flicked him in the forehead. Rubbing at the spot, he frowned up at his older brother. "Aniki, I'm not a kid anymore," he grouched.

"And?" The elder inquired, eyebrow raised.

"And? And stop poking me in the forehead like I'm still five!"

Itachi just chuckled at him, leaning back against the wall. His thoughts strayed back to just a little while ago, when a temperamental pink haired girl had done the same thing to him.

Eventually, Sasuke gave in to the urge to satisfy his nosiness. "So what did Sakura want?"

"I believe she was bored," the older Uchiha responded. He raised a brow at his younger sibling. "Why, does she need a specific reason to be here?"

"No," he responded, blushing slightly. "It's just that…. Well Sakura spends more time around you than with me or Naruto." Itachi continued to stare blankly at him. Sasuke pouted in response. "Aniki, you're hogging my teammate!" he whined.

"Well, have you and Naruto made an effort to seek her out? It goes both ways, you know."

"…..No, we haven't really tried I guess."

"Alright then."

He watched Itachi for a little while, noting how content he seemed. How he looked so much more relaxed than usual. It even looked like the barest hint of a smile may have permanently affixed itself to his face. "…Hey Aniki?"

"Hm?"

"You seem really comfortable around her. With all the time you guys spend together, I mean."

"…."

"I'm glad," he said softly.

A smile stretched across Itachi's lips as he considered his little brother's words. "Me too, Otouto."

A knowing smirk crossed Sasuke's features briefly before he swung his legs over the bed, standing and making his way to the door. "Goodnight, Aniki."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura laid stretched across her bed, picking out random shapes in the textured ceiling. It was too damn hot to do anything else today. There were probably all sorts of things she should be doing, but moving just seemed a challenge too great.

For example, she had to go over to the Uchiha main house and drag Sasuke out of his room for his yearly physical. It was way overdue. In fact it really should be done today. And maybe she should check on Itachi while she was over there. It had been a couple of days since their last conversation.

The door to her apartment slammed open suddenly, and she shot up in bed, pulling the kunai hidden beneath the mattress. A call of "Forehead!" made her relax, stowing the knife back in its hiding place. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly shuffled towards the kitchen, where she could now hear the rustling of a plastic bag, and the sound of her silverware drawer opening and closing. Next, she heard the clatter of Ino shifting through the cabinet full of dishes.

Leave it to the pig to ransack her kitchen.

Her slightly irritated mood shifted instantly however, when she saw just what Ino was scooping into the commandeered dishes. Ino looked up from her task and smirked at Sakura. Holding both bowls just out of reach.

"So…. Just how much do you love me?"

"Ino, you are the most wonderful thing that ever walked the planet," she said as she snatched the bowl from Ino's hands. "For now," She laughed.

She groaned as she dumped a large spoonful into her mouth, and the flavor hit her tongue. Mint chocolate chip is clearly the most superior ice cream flavor. The girls settled into chairs at the breakfast bar, finishing up their cold treats. After tossing the dishes into the sink to be dealt with later, they headed to the living room and plopped down on the couch. Sakura sat waiting expectantly for Ino to fill her in on all the latest gossip, as per their normal routine.

They talked for a while about Ino's latest crush, and what the members of their respective Genin teams were up to these days. Sakura was pleased to learn that Choji had found a civilian girlfriend, and the relationship was pretty serious. She in turn relayed to Ino team seven's latest shenanigans.

As always in their conversations, Ino eventually managed to turn it to Sakura's love life. Or lack thereof, really.

"I mean really Forehead. Aren't you interested in anyone? Anyone at all?"

"Not really. I just don't have the time. I'm running things at the hospital now, and Shishou is keeping me busy with medical missions."

Ino sighed, looking vaguely disappointed. "I just thought with you spending all this time with Itachi lately, that maybe you two were, you know…." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Sakura laughed incredulously. "Itachi and I are just friends Ino. I just don't see him that way."

But there was a note of hesitation in her voice, and Ino leapt on it immediately. "Sure you don't Forehead," She said with a grin. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I will," Sakura replied stubbornly. "Because it's true." But even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. She thought of him frequently, and couldn't deny that he was attractive. And he always had her back. She was one of the only people who understood and enjoyed his often warped sense of humor… and he was the only person (well, besides Ino) who was brave enough to tease her.

Maybe she did have a thing for him, after all.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi stood before the Hokage, the remnants of his Anbu team beside him. The Hokage sat at her large oaken desk, propping her head up with one hand, and flat out _glaring_ at Itachi. It would make a lesser man uncomfortable.

"And explain to me again why you have neglected to select a medic?"

Itachi sighed, and repeated what he had already said twice to his irate Hokage. "As I said before, the shinobi that took Shisui captive must have been very strong. You know well that he would not be taken down easily. And even if he were outnumbered and outmatched, _Shunshin no Shisui_ is fast. He should have been able to escape. But he didn't."

"Furthermore, there are only a handful of medic shinobi in Anbu, and none of them have mastered your 'strength of one hundred' seal, so they cannot fight should we encounter the enemy. It is common strategy during a rescue mission to fan out and search for clues. Should this occur, we may not be able to protect our medic. It would be a liability that we cannot afford."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him. "And if Shisui is seriously injured? What will you do then?"

"We can set up a teleportation scroll within the hospital, and bring a second scroll with us. When we find him, we will transport him immediately to the hospital," he said stubbornly.

Tsunade's brow began to twitch. "A transportation jutsu also saps the chakra of the person being transported. Captive shinobi generally have their chakra drained to a minimum as it is, so a transportation jutsu could kill him. You are supposed to be a genius! You should know this!"

"Honestly, Hokage-sama," he began quietly, a brief expression of defeat crossing his features. "I have little hope for Shisui's survival. They would have either wanted his eyes, or information. Once they realized that he wouldn't talk, it's highly likely that they simply took his eyes and killed him. Medics can't bring back the dead."

Tsunade studied the Uchiha heir for a moment, noting the slack in his posture, and the hidden sorrow in his eyes. Her expression softened, and she stood and came around the desk, stopping directly in front of him. "You give up too easily. There is always hope." Itachi looked at her doubtfully. "And besides. I told you that you may select a medic from outside of Anbu. Sakura has mastered the 'strength of one hundred' seal, so she can fight alongside you. She will join your team."

"But Hokage-sama, it's too dangerous, I won't put her in that position-"

"That's an order. Don't argue with me. You leave in an hour." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

As he left Hokage tower, his gut twisted with an emotion yet unknown to him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura rushed to the gates, her pack slung hastily over one shoulder. She had just been assigned a mission and told that she had 45 minutes to get to the gates. Talk about short notice! She had to repack all the mission supplies that she had taken out to clean and restock, and now she only had two minutes before her team was assigned to leave. And she didn't even know who they were! Grumbling under her breath, she dropped from the rooftops to the dirt road below as the gates came into view.

Three masked figures that she easily recognized as Anbu team one stood at the entrance to the gates. Where was her team? Surely she wouldn't be sent out on an Anbu mission, right?

She stopped in front of Itachi's team and looked around, confused. Did her team leave without her?

It was Hana who cleared up the situation. "You're in the right place, Haruno. You're with us on this one."

She surveyed the three Anbu members before her, noting the tension in their stances. Were they always so serious on their missions? And where was their fourth member? "Where is Shisui?" she asked. "Is he not coming on this one?"

Itachi stepped forward. "Sakura," he began quietly. "Our mission… Is to locate and rescue Shisui Uchiha."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

They had headed out in the same direction that they found the masked shinobi from their previous mission as a team. Deep down, he just knew that they were connected. He led at point of their formation, with Hana and Sakura at his flanks, and Genma at the rear.

Once they had made it about halfway to the boarder, he signaled for Hana and her dogs to take the lead on the ground, and Genma came forward to fill in her place in the formation. After a couple hours of fruitless searching, Hana's dogs picked up two distinct trails. The rest of the team dropped to the ground to join them on the forest floor. Genma, their second best tracker, couched over the trails, observing the direction and depth of the footprints in front of him.

Standing, he turned to his team. "One of these trails is obviously fake," he began. "But it's a good fake. I honestly can't tell the difference." Hana nodded in agreement, having already come to that conclusion.

Running a hand through his hair, Itachi looked up, judging the position of the sun in the sky. They had about two hours of good daylight left. "We split into two teams, with one tracker apiece. Hana, you will be with me. Genma and Sakura, you're team two. Sakura, summon one of your slugs to send with us. We can use them to communicate should we leave the range of our radio headsets. We rendezvous at dusk, coordinates will be given at that time. Go!"

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About an hour into their tracking, Itachi's radio crackled to life.

"Taichou, we've found what appears to be an abandoned building along a river. There's a large dam off to the side. No signs of life, but the trail heads in that direction. Should we investigate?" Genma asked.

An abandoned building… that sounded a lot more promising than what they had on this end. Nothing but trees for miles.

After some consideration, he responded. "Proceed with caution. If you see or sense anyone, withdraw and wait for our arrival. We'll head over now. We should reach you in about half an hour."

Heart pounding in his chest, he took off as fast as he could toward their teammates location, Hana hot on his heels. _'Please let this be it.'_ He thought. _'Please be alive.'_

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 **A/N: Well… it's been a while. Like, 5 months. Unfortunately I have no excuses for my behavior. I simply couldn't decide where I wanted certain events to occur, and how to work the transitions. Gomen nasai.**

 **The next chapter is very emotional. And it's about halfway done, so hopefully it won't take nearly as long. Itachi will be very much OOC. But it's only to be expected. Till next time!**


End file.
